While fans today have vast resources at their disposal via the Internet, fans in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s relied on others to keep an eye out for articles, photos, and mentions of their favorite fandoms in magazines and newspapers. Articles were cut out and sent to the editors of information zines where they were carefully retyped by hand. When photocopiers became available, articles and photos were duplicated and included in fan publications.

Editors would usually include a note about where and when the article or photo originated, but copyright disclaimers were almost never used or mentioned.